Chapter Eighteen

"Gibbons, I'm getting tired of being lied to," Hitchens grumbled before spitting a stream of tobacco into the dirt. "You know damn well that somebody in this town knows where this boy is hiding."

Gibbons nodded as he looked down at his shorter companion. They'd been searching this town for Aiden for a couple of hours now and no one seemed willing to say a word to them about where he might be. It was as if they were afraid of something and Gibbons could not figure out what that would be.

Aiden was nothing to fear but he seemed to have found someone in this town that others were terrified of going up against. Gibbons wasn't worried. Aiden's newfound protector would gladly change his mind when he discovered what kind of abomination he was protecting.

"Let's head into this diner here and get a bite to eat, Hitchens. I'm sure somebody will tell us what we want to know soon and if not then we'll just have to search house to house."

"I'm about tired of seeing that goddamn lawdog sniffing around our asses," Hitchens grumbled and Gibbons nodded. He was too. That damn sheriff and his scarred up deputy had kept a close eye on them all day.

The two men were heading up the steps to the diner when another man stepped in front of them. He was a tall man and quite soft around his middle. His face was red and blotchy beneath the patchy stubble and his bloodshot eyes were filled with amusement.

"Who are you?" Hitchens demanded.

The man grinned, revealing a chipped front tooth, "My name's Garth. I heard you're looking for Aiden?"

Hitchens and Gibbons shared a look and nodded, "Yes, sir, we are. Would you happen to know where he might be?" Gibbons inquired.

"Hell yes I do. He's holed up at Atkinson Spread. He's been working out there for about a week or so now."

"And could you tell us how to get there?"

"What will you do if some of those Atkinson's get between you and your target?" Garth asked with vengeance flashing in his eyes.

"Our only goal is to collect our payment on Aiden," Gibbons replied.

Hitchens spit out another stream of tobacco, "Course things are known to happen at times and we'll protect ourselves however we deem appropriate should our lives be threatened."

"Promise me that you'll kill Brody Atkinson and I'll not only tell you how to get to the ranch, I'll add one hundred dollars to your payment."

"We might be able to come to agreement on that," Gibbon's agreed. "Is this Brody fella the reason nobody wants to tell us where Aiden is?"

Garth snorted, "He's nothing but a blow hard. He'll act and sound as if he's the toughest bastard around but that's all he is. A bunch of talk."

Gibbons and Hitchens shared a look and then Hitchens shrugged, "We'll need a distraction to get ourselves out of town without that damn sheriff and his deputy following us," Hitchens informed Garth and Garth nodded.

"I'll make sure you get one. Let's head to the saloon."

Thirty minutes later, Garth gave them the distraction they'd needed when he slammed his beer mug down on the head of another man and a huge saloon brawl ensued. Men fighting, chairs flying, tables crashing—Hitchens and Gibbons slipped out the back unnoticed as the sheriff and his deputy tried desperately to restore order.

They headed out of town in the direction of Atkinson spread with two targets now instead of one and a bigger payday in mind.

***

"Maybe they aren't coming," Ryder offered as he paced back and forth in front of the porch and tossed a rock up and down in the air.

Aiden shifted on the swing and felt Nick's arm tighten around his shoulders. They had been waiting for three hours on those men and Aiden was giving up hope that they were going to show up before dark.

"They're going to come," Thomas and Brody replied in unison.

"How can you be so sure? Maybe Ty arrested them or nobody told them where to find Aiden," Wendell offered before yawning and stretching out his arms.

"They're coming," Brody insisted again.

"Maybe we should have headed into town and met them there," Ryder said as he began to do jumping jacks, "I'm no good at waiting."

"Then go cook us some dinner," Thomas ordered. "It sounds like I swallowed a mountain lion," he added with a wince as he covered his growling stomach.

Aiden looked up at Nick, "We should head into town, Nick. We can't put all of them at risk like this. It isn't fair....." Aiden stopped speaking when Brody's hat was suddenly smacking him in the face.

Aiden looked over to find the other man glaring at him, "I done told you that you weren't going anywhere. Now shut the hell up and toss me back my hat."

Nick was chuckling as he tossed the hat back to Brody and Brody plopped it back on over his shoulder length, dark hair.

"Hey, I know!" Ryder said, leaping back onto the porch with a smile. "Nick, tell your wife to make us some dinner! We're starving."

"I'm not his wife!" Aiden exclaimed, blushing furiously. Honestly, he'd been called a kid his whole life and now a woman? It was too much!

"Do you know how to cook?" Thomas questioned with interest.

Aiden realized that all eyes were on him and he sighed, "Yes."

The other men on the porch shared a predatory grin, "Then get on in there and cook!" Wendell urged, "We're starving."

"You don't have to cook....." Nick began but Brody nodded.

"Yeah, he does. These fools don't know how and the only other option is Cookie—" Brody glanced at the old man still lounging in his chair by the barn. Brody shivered, "—I was in the war and ate a lot of bad shit and I'm married to Elizabeth so I've eaten quite a bit more questionable meals but Cookie's cooking is something I'd rather not risk today."

"Nothing like being stuck in the outhouse when trouble arrives," Ryder agreed with a laugh. "Gun fighting with your trousers 'round your ankles does sound a little on the awkward side."

"Fine," Aiden stood up. "I'll cook."

He headed into the ranch house and couldn't help but laugh when he heard Brody holler out, "I like my steak medium rare!"

Aiden went about getting what he'd need to make fried potatoes and steak and thought about the hell this day had already been. He'd been scared damn near to death when Brody had put that gun to his head, and then to have Nick let everyone know what they were all at once—it had been a big risk but one that Aiden was glad the other man had taken.

Hiding what you were was hard and more tiring than most people realized. Now the real fear began though. Would they all live through the night? Would those men show up? And what would happen if someone died protecting Nick and Aiden? Aiden didn't want that. He wouldn't be able to ever forgive himself if something like that happened.

Brody was an amazing man. He was rough around the edges, scary as hell at times, and clearly unafraid to do whatever it took to keep his family safe but an amazing man just the same. He was risking his life for two men that he barely knew because he considered them to be his family...

Aiden had never expected that kind of acceptance and he nearly became teary eyed just thinking about it. Brody, Ryder, Wendell had all simply heard what they were, shrugged and then offered to risk their lives for them.

Thomas wasn't quite as nice about things but Aiden wasn't angry at him for what he had said. Learning that men you'd been working around for so long liked other men was probably a hard pill to swallow and at least Thomas was here and hadn't turned his back. That spoke more loudly than any words he had said so far.

Aiden was worried about what the women would have to say once the danger was over. They hadn't voiced any opinions earlier and Aiden feared their opinions would be bad. Susie seemed like an angel of a woman but she was also big in the church and Aiden had had it made clear to him in the past that he was an abomination. Would she hate him?

And what would Liz say? Would Nick and Aiden be welcome to stay once this was all over?

Aiden shook his head and tried not to think about it. He was grateful that he now had a task to complete even if that task was nothing more than peeling potatoes. It gave him something to focus on other than his own fear.

"Dinner's going to have to wait, men," Thomas's voice spoke up loudly, causing Aiden to drop the potato he'd been holding, "We have company riding in."

Aiden ran to the door and swallowed hard when he saw the silhouette in the distance. He recognized the bowler hat even from this far away, "That's one of them," he whispered shakily.

"Where's the other one?" Wendell asked with a frown.

"Around," Brody replied quietly, "Keep your eyes open."

Nick stood and walked to Aiden, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders. Aiden leaned into him and felt comforted by the closeness. The time had come and Aiden could only hope and pray like hell that those he cared about would still be breathing when this was over.

***

Brody stood and made his way slowly down the porch steps as the man rode toward the ranch. He was aware of Cookie adjusting the rifle on his lap while the hound at his feet growled.

"Who the hell are you?" Brody demanded as he stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and put his weight on his good leg.

"Name's Hitchens," The man in the ridiculous bowler hat replied with a sneer.

Brody had an instant dislike of anyone who wore bowler hats. It was his experience that the men who wore them were shifty, sneaky bastards who liked to think the world owed them everything, "What are you doing on my ranch, Hitchens?" Brody asked, keeping all his senses trained on the man on the horse and trusting the other men to be watchful for his missing partner.

"I'm looking for someone," Hitchens' eyes went up to the porch and Brody saw unease flicker through them before his gaze settled on Aiden.

Brody strode forward bringing Hitchens' attention back to him, "There ain't nobody on this ranch that you're looking for, Hitchens. It would be in your best interest to get the hell gone right now."

"So you are Brody Atkinson?" Hitchens asked, spitting tobacco onto the toe of one of Brody's scarred up boots.

Brody grinned up at the man and nodded, "Yep."

"Took a while for this town to tell me where the boy was. Seems folks around here are scared to get on your bad side."

"That's because he's a bad ass hombre," Ryder called out from the porch before laughing and Brody rolled his eyes. His sister just had to fall in love with an idiot.

"So I hear," Hitchens replied with boredom, "You know I was offered an extra one hundred dollars to make sure you were killed today as well."

Brody felt a bit insulted, "Is that all my head's worth? One hundred dollars? You should have asked around—I'm sure somebody would have offered you a bit more."

"I'm willing to let you live if you give me that boy."

Brody chuckled coldly, "Let me live? Let me tell you something, you no good, worthless son of a bitch, nobody lets me live. I live because I'm too fuckin' stubborn to die and I'm better than everybody that's ever tried to kill me."

Hitchens cocky posture suddenly faded a bit and Brody was sure he saw fear. He liked fear. He took a step closer and rested his hand on the bridle of the horse that Hitchens was still sitting atop. "Now let me make you an offer, Hitchens. I'll let you keep breathing through that oversized nose of yours if you just holler at your buddy that's trying to sneak around the barn and come up behind me—" Brody saw Hitchens look over his head and he heard a quiet curse from behind him as Cookie chambered a round in his rifle. "—and tell him that the two of you have changed your minds about this job and are going to ride off into the sunset together and never step foot back in Texas."

"Texas is a big state," Hitchens replied, though his voice was nowhere near as confident as it had been moments before.

Brody nodded and scratched at his scarred cheek, "That it is. And you have about five seconds to get the hell out of it."

"We want that boy and we're going to have him," Hitchens countered.

"Do you know what you're protecting?" the second man demanded.

Brody took a small step back and shifted his body so that he could see both men at once. He heard footsteps coming up from behind him now and knew that everybody that had been on the porch was moving closer. Brody cursed. He didn't want them down here. He could handle these men just fine and didn't want anyone else getting hurt in the process.

"I'm protecting family," Brody replied taking in the sight of the second man. He was a bit taller and a bit harder looking, though both these men had the looks of cold-blooded killers. Brody, being a cold-blooded killer himself when the situation called for it, knew that look well.

"Family? The boy hasn't been here more than a week."

"I'm not a damn boy!" Aiden's voice declared angrily. "And you can tell my father to go to hell and take my mother with him." Brody shook his head. Of all the times that Aiden could have found a voice and a backbone it had to be just now?

"You are an abomination! Satan lives in your soul and it our sworn duty to cast him out!" the second man declared.

Ryder laughed loudly, "I'm sure that book—I never can remember what it's called and my Susie always smacks my head for it—has some nice things to say about men that kill other men for money too! So who lives in your soul? Satan's evil cousin Satania?"

"One more chance, Brody," the second man warned, his gaze never wavering from Brody's, "It's either you give us the boy or we kill you all."

"You're wrong." Brody countered.

"Truly?"

"The way I see it y'all are the ones who got choices and you got three of them."

"Enlighten us," Hitchens spoke with amusement.

"This oughta be good," Ryder laughed.

"I can't believe the men ain't shit themselves yet," Thomas whispered, "When Brody gives me that look I still shit myself."

Brody worked hard to ignore them and focused on Hitchens and his partner, "You can either ride on out of here and take Aiden's parents a message saying Brody Atkinson is now looking after the man and they'd do well to back off. You can ride out of here and simply forget the job, forget us, forget you ever even stepped foot in my goddamn state. Or you can try your hand at pulling those damn irons you have strapped to your hips and see how quick you die."

"I like option four," the taller man sneered.

"There was no option four, damn can't you count?" Ryder chuckled.

"Option four is where we kill every damn one of you."

***

Aiden didn't like this! Sure Brody looked confident and more than capable but these men were killers and they were still on horseback. Not only did they have guns to use as weapons but also massive horses with hooves.

He was about to demand that this had to stop and give himself up to these men to protect everyone when all hell broke loose and it was too late.

Hitchen's pulled his gun as he nudged his horse forward and rammed it into Brody. Brody pulled his own gun as he dodged to the side and three gunshots rang out.

Aiden cried out with alarm and then stood there dumbfounded as both Hitchens and the other man tumbled from their horses and fell to the ground.

Aiden searched for where the third shot had hit and saw the blood on Brody's sleeve. "Don't pay any mind to that," Thomas whispered when he saw Aiden's look of horror, "Brody has to get shot at least once a year or he'd lose his edge."

"It's just a graze," Wendell added. "You can't really call that getting shot."

Hitchens moaned from the ground and Brody walked to him, standing over the man with a cold light in his eyes that made Aiden shiver, "I warned you, Hitchens."

"I need a doctor," Hitchens groaned.

"I can help with that," Brody stated. "You should have stayed the hell of my land and away from my family."

Brody fired one last shot and Aiden felt his stomach roll as the bullet tore through Hitchens' head and silenced the man's pain filled moans.

"Well hell Brody, that was over too fast!" Thomas complained.

"Yeah, what the hell were the rest of us around for?" Ryder agreed.

"I have no idea," Brody replied as he reloaded his gun with some bullets from his belt and holstered it quickly, "Cookie, we got two new horses," he called as he grabbed the reins of the beasts and handed them to Wendell. Cookie just grunted from beneath his hat as he laid his head back against the barn and resumed his nap.

Aiden was shaking and could do nothing other than stare as Brody removed the men's weapons and began to go through their pockets. He pulled out pouches of tobacco, a few coins and a fancy silver pocket watch.

"Ryder, Thomas, get these bodies loaded up in the cart and take them into town. Let Ty know what happened and then get back here. They're the undertaker's problem now. I'll be heading into town tomorrow and sending a message to Aiden's mommy and daddy dearest and letting them know that the next time they send someone to my land after that man they're going to be the ones learning what lead tastes like."

Aiden's head swam. The stress of the last two months crashed down on him all at once as he stared down into the bloody face of Hitchens. He could seem to catch his breath and his legs weakened.

"Nick, I think he's about to pass out if you'd like to catch him," Brody warned.

Before Aiden could insist that he was fine, his mind went black and he felt himself falling.